Fundamentals

A LightNet site generates pages from content metadata structured with Astro’s content collections feature. Content collections organize different types of metadata into separate folders, each containing JSON files. The filename, excluding the .json suffix, serves as the item’s unique identifier.

All content folders are located in src/content. LightNet uses the following content folders:

• media: Each file in this folder describes a media item. This is the core of your media library. Media items can reference other content files such as categories and collections.
• media-types: These group media items by type. For example, “Video” and “Audio” could be media types. The media type also determines the layout of the media item details page.
• categories: Categories group your media items by topic. For example, “Theology”, “Christian Living”, and “Children” could be categories referenced by media items.
• media-collections: Media collections group media items that belong together. For example, a video playlist can be modeled as a media collection. Other items in the collection appear on the media item details page.

Content editing

You can edit the content files using your text editor. Astro automatically validates the structure of the content files. If you have a syntax error in your content files, the Astro development server shows you an error message in the terminal.

Alternatively, you can use an Administration User Interface (Administration UI) to edit the content files. This is especially useful if non-technical users need to manage the content.